MIAMI, Fla. -- A schnauzer dog bit a man who then shot and killed it in a southwest Miami-Dade County neighborhood Wednesday.

Related Content: Images | Video

The man said he was walking his dog when another dog attacked him and he was forced to fire.

According to residents of the town house community where the incident occurred, everyone knows each other and the dogs in the neighborhood.

However, some residents said when the schnauzer attacked the man, he had to kill it in self-defense.

"I heard a dog bark and then I heard a gun shot," witness Fernando Vargas Perez said.

According to witnesses, the man was walking his dog when a schnauzer ran out and attacked him.

"The two dogs started fighting, and then the dog bit him in the leg and ripped his pants, so the man took out a gun and shot the dog," another witness said through an English translator.

Perez said the dog was small, only about a foot long.

Schnauzers range in height from 18 to 20 inches and weigh 30 to 45 pounds.

According to the American Kennel Club, they are intelligent, high-spirited and fearless. They're known as good watchdogs, but do not have a reputation for attacking.

"For me, it was self-defense," Perez said. "But, yeah, I think he overreacted."

Miami-Dade Fire Rescue treated the man on the scene for his injuries.

Miami Police said they did not charge him for any crime because he had a permit for the gun and was acting in self-defense.